It was on the 5th of January 2012 that Mike Beecham decided to try and change the world. A concerned dad of three, he had become increasingly frustrated at the exposure to sexually explicit material his kids were subject to when in their local Co-operative store.

Mike decided to call for ‘modesty wraps’ which would cover all but the title of lads’ mags available in shops. He launched a Facebook page, a Twitter account and a change.org petition and campaigned for months.

The campaign was quiet – and slow. The petition rallied just over 900 signatures.

But today, the Co-op has announced that it has listened and that it will, from September of this year, only sell lads’ mags that are wrapped in a ‘modesty bag’.

There are more shops to reach out to; some struggle with the terminology (the ‘modesty’ theme is often associated with efforts perceived as anti-women & anti-sex) and this isn’t a solution that deals with the root of the problem. But it is progress that is positive, and progress that makes us think about culture – and that progress happened as a result of a very simple process.

Someone concerned by something that is doing harm; that someone making avail of the tools in their hands; a small number adding their voices to the first’s, and those voices perservering.

Thanks to those of you who signed the petition – you CAN and HAVE made a diference.